Monday, June 21, 1999

Road to judgeship took a few turns

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Spaeth wanted to be a farmer

BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Judge Keith Spaeth outside the Butler County Courthouse, where his photo session was continuously interrupted by friends and acquaintences who spotted him and came over to say hello. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        HAMILTON — When Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth was growing up, corn fields and dairy barns appealed to him far more than court rooms.

        His uncle's dairy farm in Indiana held an irresistible allure. He enjoyed the summers he spent there so much that he decided he wanted to be a farmer.

        But after majoring in agricultural economics in college, he wound up going to law school and becoming a lawyer.

        “I learned enough about agricultural economics to figure out I better do something else,” the 39-year-old Hamilton native said.

        Now, two months after being appointed to the Common Pleas bench by Gov. Bob Taft, the former Purdue University football lineman looks back and smiles at the circuitous route he traveled to find his true career.

        “I absolutely love what I do,” Judge Spaeth said. “You have to go where the opportunities lead you.”

        Thinking he might become a tax attorney, he entered the University of Dayton School of Law.

        He received his first big career break when he was hired by Millikin & Fitton, the oldest law firm in Butler County.

        He became a partner in 1991 and in 1996 was appointed to replace Larry Dies as Fairfield Municipal Court judge. Judge Dies died of cancer. The next year, Judge Spaeth was elected to the position.

        Earlier this year, Anthony Valen stepped up from the Butler County Common Pleas bench to the 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

        Steve Hollon, who was expected to replace Judge Valen, withdrew his candidacy in February to become administrative director with the Ohio Supreme Court.

        Judge Spaeth had not sought the common pleas position, but accepted when he was asked to fill it.

        “I wasn't looking to leave Fairfield Municipal Court because I really enjoyed it,” he said. “But I was concerned that this was an opportunity that may not come up again.”

        He traded a docket filled with misdemeanor traffic cases for one filled with felony crimes and complex lawsuits.

        “There's a lot at stake in these cases,” Judge Spaeth said. “We're talking about taking people's liberty away from them for years and years and maybe even their lives.”

        John Clemmons, a partner in Millikin & Fitton, has known Judge Spaeth since the judge was a law clerk.

        Mr. Clemmons said Judge Spaeth has an ideal temperament to be a judge.

        “He has the ability to listen and not to react to things until all the evidence is in,” said Mr. Clemmons, who also is the Fairfield law director.

        During his brief time at common pleas court, Judge Spaeth has been struck by the hopelessness of many defendants' lives.

        “You wonder what brought them to this point,” he said.

        Judge Spaeth and his wife, Caroline, recently celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary. They live in Fairfield with two sons and a daughter.

        A second-string offensive tackle and guard at Purdue, Judge Spaeth maintains a strong interest in sports and coaches some of his children's teams. Football at Purdue taught him humility and the importance of teamwork.

        “There's no glory in being a lineman and even less in being second-string,” he said with a laugh.

        He enjoys cutting firewood and other tasks at a farm his parents, Hamilton residents, own near Brookville, Ind.

        “I still enjoy being outside working with my hands,” Judge Spaeth said.

       

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